Tony Greenberg
richmondfc.com
9:17:25 AM Fri 7 March, 2003
No player in the history of the game epitomises his club more than the great Jack Dyer.
Richmond’s oldest living premiership player is the embodiment of the famous Tiger ‘Eat ‘em Alive’ spirit.
The tough, inner-city, working-class suburb of Richmond and the rugged, raw-boned, Dyer were a match made in heaven.
"Captain Blood", as he was dubbed, because of his swashbuckling approach to the game, struck fear into the hearts and minds of all opposition players during the 1930s and 40s. He also ignited a passion within the Tiger tribe that has been passed down from generation to generation.
Dyer was renowned for his bone-jarring shirt-fronts, which left many an opponent bloodied, battered and bruised.
After suffering a knee injury early in his career, Dyer was restricted in his movement, so he adopted the straight-ahead playing style that was to become his trademark.
The inaugural Tiger ‘Immortal’ (inducted at last year’s gala RFC Hall of Fame night) never ever gave his opponents easy access to the ball -- he made them earn every kick, mark and handball.
His toughness was fuelled by his great love for the Richmond Football Club. He bled for the Tigers (both literally and figuratively) -- and expected his teammates to do likewise.
Captain Blood hated losing and did everything in his considerable might each week to ensure it didn't happen to his beloved Tigers.
Of course, Dyer was so much more than one of the game’s tough men. He had an excellent football brain and a vast array of fine skills, which helped him win a record six Richmond Best and Fairest awards.
But it was his fierce determination to help the Yellow and Blacks succeed which set him apart.
Although Captain Blood played his last game for Richmond more than half a century ago, his legacy well and truly lives on at Tigerland . . . The Jack Dyer Foundation, named in his honor, was formed in 1996 to raise funds for the development of the Tigers' famous home -- Punt Road Oval -- and to actively encourage the financial support of the Club.
It has been 39 years since the Tigers last played a home game at Punt Road, but the ground is, and always will be, the spiritual home of the Club.
To ensure the Tigers kept pace with the professional standards required of an AFL club in today's competition, the Jack Dyer Foundation embarked on its fund-raising mission.
Stage one of the Punt Road redevelopment was upgrading the entire area of the old grandstand (The Jack Dyer Stand) in 1998. Stage two of the redevelopment was the renovation of the Social Club, to include the membership and merchandise operations in 2002.
The opening of the new building at Tigerland is the final stage of the JDF's "Vision for Punt Road".
That official function will be performed at Punt Road Oval on Sunday, March 16 by General P J Cosgrove AC MC, Chief of the Defence Force, and will be a major highlight of Richmond’s 2003 Jack Dyer Foundation Day.
Late last year General Cosgrove agreed to become Patron of the Jack Dyer Foundation, in memory of his late Uncle Bill Cosgrove, who played alongside the great ‘Captain Blood’ at Tigerland during the late 1930s and early 1940s, before heading off to serve Australia in World War 2.
Bill Cosgrove idolised Jack Dyer and had the Richmond champion’s name (as well as the Tiger emblem and the Club’s famous ‘Eat ‘em Alive’ battle cry) painted on the side of the cockpit of the fighter plane he flew during the war for good luck.
He was killed in action when his plane was shot down over New Guinea on August 11, 1943 – just weeks before Richmond took out the premiership in a thrilling Grand Final against Essendon. The Tigers dedicated that glorious triumph to their brave Flight-Sergeant, Bill Cosgrove.
Six decades on, his nephew, General Peter Cosgrove, will start a new chapter in the Cosgrove history at Tigerland . . .
Jack Dyer Foundation Day shapes as a terrific prelude to the 2003 season, providing all Tiger supporters with the opportunity of gracing the hallowed Punt Road Oval turf and enjoying the festivities with fellow members of the Yellow and Black faith.
richmondfc.com
9:17:25 AM Fri 7 March, 2003
No player in the history of the game epitomises his club more than the great Jack Dyer.
Richmond’s oldest living premiership player is the embodiment of the famous Tiger ‘Eat ‘em Alive’ spirit.
The tough, inner-city, working-class suburb of Richmond and the rugged, raw-boned, Dyer were a match made in heaven.
"Captain Blood", as he was dubbed, because of his swashbuckling approach to the game, struck fear into the hearts and minds of all opposition players during the 1930s and 40s. He also ignited a passion within the Tiger tribe that has been passed down from generation to generation.
Dyer was renowned for his bone-jarring shirt-fronts, which left many an opponent bloodied, battered and bruised.
After suffering a knee injury early in his career, Dyer was restricted in his movement, so he adopted the straight-ahead playing style that was to become his trademark.
The inaugural Tiger ‘Immortal’ (inducted at last year’s gala RFC Hall of Fame night) never ever gave his opponents easy access to the ball -- he made them earn every kick, mark and handball.
His toughness was fuelled by his great love for the Richmond Football Club. He bled for the Tigers (both literally and figuratively) -- and expected his teammates to do likewise.
Captain Blood hated losing and did everything in his considerable might each week to ensure it didn't happen to his beloved Tigers.
Of course, Dyer was so much more than one of the game’s tough men. He had an excellent football brain and a vast array of fine skills, which helped him win a record six Richmond Best and Fairest awards.
But it was his fierce determination to help the Yellow and Blacks succeed which set him apart.
Although Captain Blood played his last game for Richmond more than half a century ago, his legacy well and truly lives on at Tigerland . . . The Jack Dyer Foundation, named in his honor, was formed in 1996 to raise funds for the development of the Tigers' famous home -- Punt Road Oval -- and to actively encourage the financial support of the Club.
It has been 39 years since the Tigers last played a home game at Punt Road, but the ground is, and always will be, the spiritual home of the Club.
To ensure the Tigers kept pace with the professional standards required of an AFL club in today's competition, the Jack Dyer Foundation embarked on its fund-raising mission.
Stage one of the Punt Road redevelopment was upgrading the entire area of the old grandstand (The Jack Dyer Stand) in 1998. Stage two of the redevelopment was the renovation of the Social Club, to include the membership and merchandise operations in 2002.
The opening of the new building at Tigerland is the final stage of the JDF's "Vision for Punt Road".
That official function will be performed at Punt Road Oval on Sunday, March 16 by General P J Cosgrove AC MC, Chief of the Defence Force, and will be a major highlight of Richmond’s 2003 Jack Dyer Foundation Day.
Late last year General Cosgrove agreed to become Patron of the Jack Dyer Foundation, in memory of his late Uncle Bill Cosgrove, who played alongside the great ‘Captain Blood’ at Tigerland during the late 1930s and early 1940s, before heading off to serve Australia in World War 2.
Bill Cosgrove idolised Jack Dyer and had the Richmond champion’s name (as well as the Tiger emblem and the Club’s famous ‘Eat ‘em Alive’ battle cry) painted on the side of the cockpit of the fighter plane he flew during the war for good luck.
He was killed in action when his plane was shot down over New Guinea on August 11, 1943 – just weeks before Richmond took out the premiership in a thrilling Grand Final against Essendon. The Tigers dedicated that glorious triumph to their brave Flight-Sergeant, Bill Cosgrove.
Six decades on, his nephew, General Peter Cosgrove, will start a new chapter in the Cosgrove history at Tigerland . . .
Jack Dyer Foundation Day shapes as a terrific prelude to the 2003 season, providing all Tiger supporters with the opportunity of gracing the hallowed Punt Road Oval turf and enjoying the festivities with fellow members of the Yellow and Black faith.
